Sir Donald Charles MacGillivray (22 September 1906 – 24 December 1966) was a Scottish colonial administrator who served as the last

British High Commissioner in Malaya In 1896, the post of High Commissioner for the Federated Malay States was created; the High Commissioner represented the British Government in the Federated Malay States, a federation of four British protected states in Malaya. The High Commissi ...

Early life and education

MacGillivray was born in 1906, the son of Edinburgh barrister Evan James MacGillivray, and Maud Hamilton Turcan. He was educated at

Sherborne School (God and My Right) , established = 705 by Aldhelm, re-founded by King Edward VI 1550 , closed = , type = Public school Independent, boarding school , religion = Church of England , president = , chair_label = Chairman of the governors , ...

and

Trinity College, Oxford (That which you wish to be secret, tell to nobody) , named_for = The Holy Trinity , established = , sister_college = Churchill College, Cambridge , president = Dame Hilary Boulding , location = Broad Street, Oxford OX1 3BH , coordinates ...

. He earned a B.A. in 1928. He was selected for the Colonial Administrative Service in 1929 and was posted to

Tanganyika Tanganyika may refer to: Places * Tanganyika Territory (1916–1961), a former British territory which preceded the sovereign state * Tanganyika (1961–1964), a sovereign state, comprising the mainland part of present-day Tanzania * Tanzania Main ...

. He earned his M.A. from Trinity College in 1932. In 1936, he married Louisa May Knox-Browne. They had one son.

Career

In 1938, the Colonial Office posted MacGillivray to British Palestine, "in accordance with the Colonial Office policy of staffing that difficult territory with some of its best administrators." He served as Colonial Secretary in Jamaica from 1947 to 1952, and was considered in line for a governorship. However,

Oliver Lyttelton, 1st Viscount Chandos Oliver Lyttelton, 1st Viscount Chandos, (15 March 1893 – 21 January 1972) was a British businessman from the Lyttelton family who was brought into government during the Second World War, holding a number of ministerial posts. Background, ed ...

selected MacGillivray to serve as Deputy High Commissioner to General Sir

Gerald Templer Field Marshal Sir Gerald Walter Robert Templer, (11 September 1898 – 25 October 1979) was a senior British Army officer. He fought in both the world wars and took part in the crushing of the Arab Revolt in Palestine. As Chief of the Imperia ...

British High Commissioner in Malaya, where a state of emergency existed. Donald MacGillivray was the only colonial administrator who openly discussed Malaya's independence with the Malays. He served Malaya from 1954 until 1957. After celebrating Malaya's independence (

Hari Merdeka Independence Day ( ms, Hari Merdeka, also known as ''Hari Kebangsaan'' or "National Day"), is the official independence day of Malaya. It commemorates the Malayan Declaration of Independence of 31 August 1957, and is defined in Article 160 ...

), MacGillivray was accompanied by the

Yang Di-Pertuan Agong The Yang di-Pertuan Agong (, Jawi: ), also known as the Supreme Head of the Federation, the Paramount Ruler or simply as the Agong, and unofficially as the King of Malaysia, is the constitutional monarch and head of state of Malaysia. The of ...

of Malaya and his consort, together with Malaya's first prime minister,

Tunku Abdul Rahman Tunku Abdul Rahman Putra Al-Haj ibni Almarhum Sultan Abdul Hamid Halim Shah ( ms, ‏تونكو عبد الرحمن ڤوترا الحاج ابن سلطان عبد الحميد حليم شاه, label= Jawi, script=arab, italic=unset; 8 Febru ...

to board the plane in

Sungai Besi Airport RMAF Kuala Lumpur was an air base in Kuala Lumpur. It is also known as Sungai Besi Air Base, Simpang Airport, Old Airport. History It served as the main airport for Kuala Lumpur from 1952 to 1965 under the name Kuala Lumpur International Airpo ...

. MacGillivray also served as the Chairman of the State Council of British Colony of Kenya, which has five European and six Non-European members. This is almost similar with what he chaired during his administration in British Malaya, where a Legislative Council for the Federation of Malaya was formed, with appointed local and European council members. On 5 August 1957, he signed the Federation of Malaya Agreement, 1957. In 1960, he was appointed to the

Monckton Commission The Monckton Commission, officially the Advisory Commission for the Review of the Constitution of the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland, was set up by the British government under the chairmanship of Walter Monckton, 1st Viscount Monckton of Bre ...

to review the constitution of the

Central African Federation Central is an adjective usually referring to being in the center of some place or (mathematical) object. Central may also refer to: Directions and generalised locations * Central Africa, a region in the centre of Africa continent, also known as ...

. He died on 24 December 1966 at

Nairobi Hospital The Nairobi Hospital is a private hospital located in upperhill area, Nairobi, Kenya.The hospital was founded in 1954 as a European hospital. Location It is located along Argwings Kodhek Road, Upper Hill, Nairobi. The hospital is located approx ...

, after a long illness.

Honours

1936 Events January–February * January 20 – George V of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions and Emperor of India, dies at his Sandringham Estate. The Prince of Wales succeeds to the throne of the United Kingdom as King E ...

: Member of the

Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established ...

(MBE) *

1949 Events January * January 1 – A United Nations-sponsored ceasefire brings an end to the Indo-Pakistani War of 1947. The war results in a stalemate and the division of Kashmir, which still continues as of 2022. * January 2 – Luis ...

: Companion of the

Order of St Michael and St George The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is a British order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George IV, George IV, Prince of Wales, while he was acting as prince regent for his father, George III, King George III. ...

(CMG) *

1953 Events January * January 6 – The Asian Socialist Conference opens in Rangoon, Burma. * January 12 – Estonian émigrés found a Estonian government-in-exile, government-in-exile in Oslo. * January 14 ** Marshal Josip Broz Tito i ...

: Knight Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George (KCMG) *

1957 1957 ( MCMLVII) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar, the 1957th year of the Common Era (CE) and ''Anno Domini'' (AD) designations, the 957th year of the 2nd millennium, the 57th year of the 20th century, and the 8th y ...

: Knight Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George (GCMG)

Works

''A Chinese and English Vocabulary in the Pekinese Dialect'' (1898)

References

*Malaysia: Report of the Inter-governmental Committee, 1962

1906 births 1966 deaths Civil servants from Edinburgh People educated at Sherborne School Alumni of Trinity College, Oxford Colonial Administrative Service officers British people of the Malayan Emergency Knights Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George Members of the Order of the British Empire High Commissioners of the United Kingdom to Malaysia {{UK-diplomat-stub